Chapter Thirty-Three: A Sudden Spark of Inspiration

“It’s alright, let’s release another one,” Liu Rushuang encouraged herself, preparing another sky lantern.

Lu Hehuan seized the moment to move beside Bai Yulou and whispered, “The fact that you can focus so freely proves the hypnotic suggestion has been lifted.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bai Yulou replied, startled, masking his words in a low voice.

“You just looked at Miss Liu with such affection—that surely isn’t a hypnotic command, is it?” Lu Hehuan, knowing Bai Yulou was feigning ignorance, pressed him quietly.

Bai Yulou froze, realizing his little trick had been seen through, and hurriedly pleaded in hushed tones, “Officer Lu, nothing escapes your eyes. Please, I beg you not to expose me. In truth, I recovered as soon as I woke by the riverside, but I couldn’t bear to let go of Frost Sister’s care… Could you keep my secret?”

Lu Hehuan smiled and nodded, understanding Bai Yulou bore no malice. “Rest assured, I’d like to help you, but remember—forced affection never tastes sweet.”

Bai Yulou defiantly raised his delicate fingers and gave Lu Hehuan a charming push. “Persistence is what matters.”

Lu Hehuan shivered, quickly stepping back—clearly, Bai Yulou had fully regained consciousness.

Liu Rushuang hung another slip of paper on the lantern, looked at Ying Xi, and smiled with pursed lips. “Brother Xi, this one’s for your blessing.”

Ying Xi showed no reaction, turning his head away.

Liu Rushuang lifted the lantern but nearly damaged the shade with her excessive force.

Ying Xi couldn’t bear it, snatched the lantern from her hands, and complained sharply, “I can’t stand it—how could there be such a clumsy woman in the world!”

Liu Rushuang pouted in grievance. “Sky lanterns are meant to be released by two people—I can’t do it alone.” She grinned, sidling up, “Brother Xi, let’s do it together.”

Ying Xi pushed her aside with a look of distaste. “Go away, go away. Lu Hehuan, come help.”

Lu Hehuan, puzzled, stepped over to hold the lantern. Liu Rushuang, seeing Lu Hehuan once again ruin her plans, glared at him fiercely, while Lu Hehuan wore a look of innocence.

Ying Xi struck a match and lit the wick, releasing the lantern with Lu Hehuan.

Lu Hehuan watched the lantern ascend slowly, lost in memory.

Years ago, the night outside the Old Sluice was especially lively; the streets rang with hawkers’ cries. The moon rose bright, the stars glittered, and groups released sky lanterns together.

A youthful Lu Hehuan carried a lantern in hand, leading Ling Yan along.

Ling Yan gazed at the lanterns drifting across the sky and sighed softly. “People’s wishes are as numerous as the stars—how many really come true?”

“Why do I feel Miss Ling is becoming like Miss Bao of the Bao family? You carry the air of a scholar.” Lu Hehuan teased.

Ling Yan smiled at herself. “How could I compare to little Rong? My family declined after my father passed away.”

Lu Hehuan put on a stern face. “I won’t allow you to belittle yourself.”

Seeing his seriousness, Ling Yan smiled gently. “Truthfully, childhood friends like little Rong are more your equal.”

“If you keep saying such things, I’ll get angry. Little Rong is my sister,” Lu Hehuan replied earnestly.

“She doesn’t see you as a brother. Everyone at school notices her feelings for you—it’s just you’re slow to see it,” Ling Yan said, lowering her head, a hint of jealousy in her tone.

“You’re overthinking. We’ve lived across the hall since childhood—I’ve always treated her as my little sister,” Lu Hehuan declared firmly.

Ling Yan said nothing, but her unhappiness showed.

Lu Hehuan held Ling Yan’s shoulders, coaxing gently, “Let’s not let anyone disturb our world of two.”

Ling Yan couldn’t help but smile and nod.

“Let’s release a sky lantern here, shall we?”

“Alright.” Ling Yan took out paper and pen, writing something.

“What are you writing?” Lu Hehuan asked curiously.

“My wish.”

“Let me see what it is?” He pretended to reach for the note, but Ling Yan blocked it, smiling mischievously. “It’s a secret.”

Lu Hehuan grinned, “A secret? Now I must know…”

He leaned in to tickle her; Ling Yan burst into laughter, chasing and playing until Lu Hehuan hugged her from behind. Embarrassed, Ling Yan dared not move.

“Tell me, what’s your wish?” Lu Hehuan asked softly.

“That we’ll always be together,” Ling Yan replied sweetly.

Lu Hehuan smiled. “That’s hardly a wish—we’ll definitely always be together.”

Ling Yan’s expression suddenly dimmed; she gently cautioned, “Hehuan, promise me you won’t do anything to make your parents sad for my sake.”

Lu Hehuan turned her to face him, gazing deeply; tears already shimmered in Ling Yan’s eyes.

“Did my parents come to you again?”

Ling Yan hesitated, then shook her head. “Even if they did, it’s out of love for you.”

“If they come again, tell them to mind their own son and leave you be,” Lu Hehuan said, resolute.

Ling Yan was amused by his words.

Lu Hehuan took her hand. “Don’t overthink it—just wait for me to marry you. I’ll handle my parents.”

Ling Yan smiled bitterly. “Alright.”

Seeing her mood improve, Lu Hehuan immediately suggested, “Let’s go release the sky lantern?”

Ling Yan nodded.

The two walked to the lantern; Ling Yan folded her wish into a paper crane and tied it to the lantern. Lu Hehuan lit the wick. Together, they released the lantern, the crane rising into the night sky, the glow illuminating Ling Yan’s smile—beautiful as a painting.

The lantern soared higher, disappearing into the dull clouds. The light vanished from Lu Hehuan’s eyes, and he awakened from his memories, feeling a sense of loss.

Ying Xi, noticing Lu Hehuan seemed to have lost his soul, bumped his shoulder. “Thinking of Ling Yan again?”

Lu Hehuan nodded silently.

“What are you brooding over? She probably doesn’t even remember you.”

“You don’t understand my feelings for Ling Yan.”

“But I understand women. Dancers at the Paramount flirt with me when we meet, but after a few days, they find someone new.”

“How can you compare Ling Yan to dancers at the Paramount!” Lu Hehuan retorted angrily, raising his voice.

“Aren’t they all women? What’s wrong with dancers? They earn their living—don’t be prejudiced.”

Lu Hehuan sighed. “You wouldn’t understand… Back then, Ling Yan and I released a lantern wishing ‘never to part.’ I wonder if that wish can ever come true.”

Ying Xi pointed at the lanterns flickering in the sky, unconcerned. “There are so many wishes—how could they all come true? Don’t take it so hard.”

Lu Hehuan lapsed into silence.

“Come on, the lanterns are gone. Let’s go back and drink,” said Ying Xi.

Lu Hehuan nodded, sorrowful. As he left, he glanced back at the lanterns, and inspiration flashed. “I’ve got it.”

Ying Xi and Liu Rushuang looked at him, puzzled.

“What do you mean?” Ying Xi was baffled by Lu Hehuan’s sudden declaration.

Lu Hehuan turned to Ying Xi, exhilarated. “Inspector Ying, I know how the truck carried the elephant without cracking the stone slabs!”

“Don’t tell me the elephant thieves’ wishes came true?” Ying Xi glanced at the lanterns overhead, lost.

Lu Hehuan ignored Ying Xi and looked at Liu Rushuang. “Miss Liu, I need your help.”

Liu Rushuang, fearing Ying Xi would object, glanced at him. Ying Xi waved indifferently.

Relieved, Liu Rushuang faced Lu Hehuan. “What do you need?”

“I’d like you to help me find the truck that passed the rear gate of the Exotic Beasts Park on the day the elephant disappeared.”

Liu Rushuang nodded. “That shouldn’t be hard. I’ll look into it right away.”

Early in the morning, Liu Rushuang, holding the rope binding Bai Yulou’s hands, sat at the desk of Frost and Joy Detective Agency, Bai Yulou obediently standing behind her.

The room was crammed with small traders, fortune-tellers, and others, listening intently to Liu Rushuang’s instructions.

Liu Rushuang placed some money on the desk, facing them. “You all understand the task, right? Whoever brings clues gets paid.”

Everyone rushed out the door.

At dawn, Bao Kang summoned Lu Hehuan and Ying Xi to his office.

Bao Kang slammed his desk, furious. “You’re not hunting serial killers—why is it so hard to catch a thief?”

Lu Hehuan and Ying Xi stood opposite him, heads bowed.

“You’re bringing disgrace to the Old Sluice Police Station!”

Ying Xi looked up, trying to appease him. “Chief Bao, we’ve already apprehended suspects, but they haven’t confessed. Give us a bit more time and we’ll get a confession.”

“Then hurry up and interrogate them!” Bao Kang roared.

“Report, Chief Bao, the suspects aren’t the elephant thieves. I need time to uncover the truth,” Lu Hehuan interjected, fearing Ying Xi would resort to forced interrogation.

Ying Xi shot Lu Hehuan a look, but Lu Hehuan ignored it.

Bao Kang glared at them, barking, “All you do is ask for more time. If you can’t solve a petty theft, you don’t need to hang around the station—get lost so I can have some peace.”

“One day—give us one day to solve the case,” Lu Hehuan blurted.

“You’re mad!” Ying Xi whispered in shock.

Lu Hehuan’s gaze was resolute.

Bao Kang snorted. “Fine, one day. If you don’t crack it, you’ll… I’ll tell you the rest when you fail.”

Ying Xi, steeling himself, nodded tragically, “Yes, sir.”

As they left Bao Kang’s office, Lu Hehuan frowned slightly; Ying Xi stared at him, worry clouding his face.

“Has Liu Rushuang found the truck?”

Lu Hehuan shook his head. “No.”

“Then how could you brag about solving the case in a day?” Ying Xi exploded.

“I just wanted to push myself,” Lu Hehuan explained frankly.

Ying Xi grimaced, scolding, “But you dragged me along—right to the edge of a cliff!”

“That’s when urgency matters most, Inspector Ying. Sometimes, unless you push yourself, you never know what you’re capable of.”

“You push yourself—why drag me into it!” Ying Xi protested, aggrieved.

Lu Hehuan looked at Ying Xi with determination. “Inspector, trust me. If we keep investigating, we’ll find the truth.”

“Spare me that nonsense! How do we investigate without clues?”

“That truck is the clue. Believe me.”

As they spoke, Liu Rushuang, dragging Bai Yulou, ran up shouting.

“Brother Xi, I found the truck!”

“Where?” Lu Hehuan’s spirits lifted.

“At the kerosene plant.”

Soon, Lu Hehuan and his group arrived at the kerosene plant.

Liu Rushuang pointed to a truck parked in the corner. “There it is.”

“Miss Liu, how did you find it so quickly?” Lu Hehuan asked, amazed by her efficiency.

“The old-fashioned way—one of my informants traced the trail of kerosene drops from the truck to here,” Liu Rushuang replied proudly.

The group hurried to the truck.

Lu Hehuan examined it carefully, opening the hood to check the oil and radiator.

Ying Xi watched him. “Anything suspicious?”

Lu Hehuan didn’t answer, circled to the side, opened the fuel tank and sniffed, then crouched to inspect underneath.

“What clues could be under there?” Ying Xi crouched to look.

Lu Hehuan remained silent, agilely climbed onto the truck roof.

Ying Xi stood, tried to climb up, but gave up awkwardly.

Standing atop the truck, Lu Hehuan saw the roof bulged outward. His expression darkened; he jumped down.

“This truck’s roof is deformed, clearly from external force,” he said confidently.

“You needed to tell us that? Did the truck hurt itself?” Ying Xi, expecting a revelation, was unimpressed.

“I believe it happened when transporting the elephant,” Lu Hehuan replied honestly.

Ying Xi glared at him. “We checked the road behind the Exotic Beasts Park—those stone slabs were intact, no sign of a heavy truck passing.”

“If I’m right, the criminal used a hot air balloon’s lift to lighten the truck and elephant’s weight, so the stone slabs weren’t damaged,” Lu Hehuan analyzed.

Ying Xi scoffed. “Are you joking? Could a balloon lift a truck carrying an elephant?”

“It’s no joke—there’s scientific basis. Same principle as the sky lantern: heated air is lighter, generating lift, and the force can be astonishing.”

“Lu Hehuan, stop daydreaming. If you report this to Chief Bao, we’ll only hear ‘get lost.’”

“I’ll prove it to you,” Lu Hehuan said, resolute.

“Don’t waste time—let’s go interrogate Zheng Qiu and Zhang Chuan. Maybe we can crack the case before dark; otherwise, we’ll never solve another case.”

Lu Hehuan ignored Ying Xi and asked Liu Rushuang, “Miss Liu, do you know where the plant owner is?”

Liu Rushuang nodded; Ying Xi glared, and she quickly shook her head.

Lu Hehuan noticed Ying Xi’s interference, spotted the office in the plant’s corner, and went over.

Inside, the owner slumped in his chair. Though only in his thirties, dark circles marked his tired face. Lu Hehuan and the others sat opposite.

The owner yawned, glanced lazily at Lu Hehuan. “I wouldn’t have noticed the roof’s deformation if you hadn’t mentioned it. This truck hasn’t been used for half a year—it’s been parked there.”

Everyone was stunned.

“That can’t be. When the Exotic Beasts Park opened, this truck passed the rear gate—someone saw it,” Liu Rushuang countered.

The owner scratched his head, muttering, “That shouldn’t be. We haven’t shipped much kerosene lately, so the big truck hasn’t been used.”

Lu Hehuan had a thought. “If a truck sits idle for half a year, the oil thickens. If it’s been used, heat and circulation make it thinner. I checked the dipstick—the oil is thin, which means it’s been driven recently.”

The owner was surprised and puzzled, scratching his head vigorously.

Ying Xi asked, “Has anything strange happened at the plant lately?”

The owner pondered, then slapped his thigh. “I’ve had insomnia, but these last few days I’ve been unusually sleepy, day and night. The day before yesterday, I slept all day, then was still tired at night. I don’t know if that counts as strange.”

Lu Hehuan and Ying Xi exchanged a startled glance.